


The Lust 7

by Valkyriav



Category: Bleach
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 00:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17012340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valkyriav/pseuds/Valkyriav
Summary: Takes place after the climatic battle between Ichigo and Ulquiorra on top of the Hueco Mundo. Ichigo has rushed off. Meanwhile, Orihime begins to heal Uryuu up on top of the dome. Uryuu POV.





	The Lust 7

**Author's Note:**

> Old fic of mine from 2009 when the Ichigo/Ulquiorra fight had just finished in the manga. Uploading it here on AO3. :)

_Breathe in._  I let in a short, ragged gasp.  _Out._  I shakily breathe out. What I had remembered as a simple task seemed like a challenge to me now. I knew that I wasn't going to last much longer in my current shape. I had lost too much blood and I could feel it slowly fill my lungs, making each breath shorter than the last. I look over in the distance.  _Inoue-san..._ I see her standing next to Kurosaki. Thank God she was unharmed. I would have never forgiven myself if she was harmed in my care. If only I could have protected her...if I was  _stronger_...Kurosaki wouldn't have had to intervene. I feel ashamed, as if I had failed the task he had assigned me to.

My vision suddenly starts to fade and I have a hard time focusing on her figure. I start to feel incredibly light-headed. Suddenly, I see her turn around, if just noticing me, and she breaks out into a run towards me. "Ishida-kun!" she cries, summoning her Shun Shun Rika. Almost immediately I am surrounded by a gentle yellow glow. She kneels down by my side and when I look up at her, and I notice that she is crying. A few tears fall from her face and land on her healing shield and I watch them slowly roll down the surface. "I'm so sorry, Ishida-kun...I'm so useless... I should have healed you earlier...instead I just left you here to bleed. I-"

"Are you...all right...Inoue-san?" I manage to get out, bringing a weak smile across my face. Kurosaki might have beaten me to it, but it did not mean I couldn't ask it myself.

She tries to wipe away her tears, but her attempts are unsuccessful. Immediately when she wiped away one tear, another would be there to replace it. "I should be the one asking that question, not you," she smiles sadly.

I can't help but smile back. I feel a funny, warm feeling rise in my chest but I fight it back down.

Already I could feel the positive effects of her healing powers. The stab wound from Kurosaki's Zanpakuto was almost completely healed and now her powers were slowly patching up a slash across my chest. It was extraordinary what her Shun Shun Rika could do. It was then it suddenly hit me; this was my first time being healed by Inoue-san. All my other battles...I hadn't been seriously injured at all. There was that one time when I fought Kuchiki-san's brother...Urahara-san had taken care of my injuries then. Then there was also that one time when I fought that mad scientist in Soul Society...I was later captured by the Shinigami and healed with what treatment they had to offer. But never had I been healed by Inoue-san.

It's just then did I realize that I had forgotten about Kurosaki. It's funny how easily I can forget things when thinking of her. I quickly glance over to where I had last seen him stand with Inoue-san only to see nothing but a pile of ashes of that Espada. "Kurosaki...where...?"

"Kurosaki-kun left to help Kuchiki-san and the others," she quickly answered.

I immediately look into her brown eyes and see the pain hidden them.  _Damn Kurosaki._  What does it take for you to get it in your thick skull just how much she cares about you? I glance down at my left arm, where my hand used to be. I would be completely useless now without it. Quincies cannot use bows without the use of both of their hands. Even though with my hand gone, I feel no regret. Why? I had lost it for a good cause. To protect Inoue-san. That's all that mattered then.

"It's a bit hard to reject...it might take awhile to heal." I think Inoue-san noticed that I was staring at my missing hand.

"I guess I'm going to end up being a one-armed Quincy for now on, huh?" I trail off, looking away from her gaze. Suddenly, I feel a strange sensation in my arm. I stare in shock as slowly, bit by bit, my hand materializes back where it had once been. "How...? How is this possible...?" I inspect my hand, testing it out as if doubting it was really there.

"...Aizen-sama said it was like rejecting events that happened. He said something about me trespassing on God's territory." Her voice was the slightest bit bitter.

"I see..." It was all I could say, but I felt like I had to say  _something._ Her tone of voice told me the memory wasn't very sweet. Not like any memory was sweet in this horrid place.

Inoue-san calls back her Shun Shun Rika and I am now completely healed. I stand up, completely renewed, before I offer my hand to help her up. She takes it and I gently pull her up to her feet. I immediately began to study her, my eyebrows furrowed, to double check that she was unharmed. Somewhere during her time in Las Noches she had ripped part of her outfit, one shoulder completely exposed and a couple of smaller tears here and there. I see her shiver and I can't blame her. Deserts are known to get pretty cool during the nighttime and Hueco Mundo was no exception.

I take off my Quincy cape and wrap it around her shoulders. "Here. The temperature might more bearable with this." I button it at the front, securing it around its new wearer. It was a big large on her but it fit.

Inoue-san clutches part of the cape with one of her hands. "Thank you, Ishida-kun," she smiles, wiping away the last of her tears.

"It's nothing," I make it look like I shrugged her thanks off like it was no big deal. But really, it meant a lot to me. I subconsciously adjust my glasses, pushing them up higher on the bridge of my nose and I can feel my cheeks redden slightly. "Inoue-san..." I say. "If you want, we can head back down."

"Ishida-kun..." She avoids my gaze. "It was my fault that you got as hurt as you did all because I asked you to bring me up here in the first place. I should have never asked that of you. I don't want to be the one to make that decision. I'm afraid that I'll end up making another mistake and you'll get hurt again because of me..."

"Nonsense." I see Inoue-san look up at me suddenly, surprised by my response. "Kurosaki needed your help and you were there when he needed you. You brought him back and he defeated that Espada, didn't he?" I smile.

"Yeah." For the first time since coming up on top of the dome, she truly smiles. I can feel my heart thump loudly in my chest just from her beautiful smile.

"We'll go back down and watch Kurosaki win again, okay?" I hold out my hand and she takes it. I gently squeeze her soft hand to tell her that I would be there for her the whole time.

I gather enough spirit particles and condense them together, creating a suitable form of transportation for us beneath our feet. As I lower us through the hole, the only thing I can hope for is that Inoue-san will be safe and sound by the time all of this is over.


End file.
